Archive for May 2010
Squats and Handstand Pushups – My Kind of Friday Training
Today was the last heavy session of this 8 week training cycle. Next week I’ll take it down a notch, deload, work on some stuff I suck at, and have a little bit of fun with my training. I cannot stress how important these types of weeks are for your training. Whether it’s once every 4 weeks, 6 weeks, or whatever, recovery and restoration will go a long way in helping you reach your long term training goals.
I’m enjoying this lean and mean training cycle and I may continue it but with different lifts and sequences. I might get back to the high rep squats after watching this video below by my buddy Matt Wichlinksi. If you haven’t checked out his youtube channel or visited his blog, do it now!
Below is how today’s session turned out.
Full Body Training Wk 7 – Day 3
1 – Squat 5×5,5,5,3,3
2a – DB Reverse Lunge 3x7ea.
2b – Handstand Pushups 3×10,8,8
3a – Ring Pushups 3xsubmax
3b – Weighted Chins 3×7
3c – KB Thrusters 3×15
I’m pretty happy with my gains during the past few weeks but I am by no means satisfied. I have to get my strength levels up big time. I trained like a jackass for far too long, so I’m trying to make up for it! The squat and handstand pushups keep coming up so I must be doing a little something right.
Have a great Memorial Day Weekend.
THANK YOU TO ALL THE VETERANS OUT THERE WHO HAVE DEFENDED THIS GREAT COUNTRY.
WE AS A NATION CAN NEVER THANK YOU ENOUGH.
Full Body Training Log: Wk 7 – Day 2
There was lot of heavy pushing today. My bench still isn’t great but it’s improving nonetheless. The bench isn’t even one of my favorite lifts but I believe in working at the lifts you don’t perform very well. Whether it’s the bench(for me), olympic lifts, pullups, or conditioning, you must practice them. Get better at the lifts with which you struggle. It will spur new muscle growth not to mention getting your numbers up!
Full Body Training Log: Wk 7 – Day 3
1 – Bench 5×4,4,3,2,2
2a – Military Press 3×4
2b – 1 arm DB Row 3x25ea.
3a – BB Walking Lunge 3x16ea.
3b – Weighted Ring Dips 3×10,10,9
3c – Burpees 3×10
Enjoy!
If you’re following along I’d love to get your feedback and comments.
Keep getting after it!
Full Body Training: Wk 7 – Day 1
Alright, last heavy week in this 8 week cycle. It was time to get after it this morning with some heavy deadlifting. I must say I’ve enjoyed this training cycle more than I originally thought I would. I hadn’t hit full body sessions in such a long time I didn’t know what to expect. However, it’s been awesome. My strength on all my lifts have gone up, some more than others, and I’ve added some lean muscle while getting leaner at the same time. It’s hard to argue with those results but I still want more!!!
Take a look at what I rocked this a.m.
1 – Deadlift 5×3,3,1,1,1
2a – Zercher Squat 3×5
2b – DB Snatch 3x7ea.
3a – DB Incline Press 3×10,8,6
3b – Neutral Grip Pullups 3xsubmax
3c – DBL KB Swings 3×30
Quick and dirty! That’s how I like it. Pushing the pace keeps me focused and hungry!
What do you do to stay hungry and focused during a session?
More hill sprints and slegehammer training.
Sunday morning begins my training week. I like to get up early and get in some killer fat burning conditioning. Trust me, it’s a great way to start off the week! This morning I hit a little hill sprint and sledgehammer circuit. I performed two hill sprints then walked over to the tire and did 20 sledgehammer strikes (10 per side) for 10 rounds for time. This morning was a little muggy which I love b/c it gets me sweating early and the blood pumping. It was an awesome session I beat last week’s time by 51 seconds! Like I said, a great way to start the week!
Below is my updated training log. Friday was full of squats, sandbag work, and handstand pushups. Enjoy!
Full Body Training Log: Wk 6 – Day 3
1 – Squat 5×3
2a – Sandbag Clean 3×8
2b – DB Reverse Lunge 3×12
2c – Handstand Pushups 3×8
3a – Ring Pushups 3xsubmax
3b – Weighted Chins 3xsubmax
3c – KB Thrusters 3×15
My legs and shoulders were toast by the end but everything went great. My squat is going up and my handstand pushups are getting better each week.
Why you must include conditioning in your training plan…
I’ll keep this one short and sweet.
To me incorporating conditioning is a no brainer. If you’ve been following this site for a while you know I’m a huge proponent! Forget traditional cardio! As the say “conditioning is where it’s at!” However, I am by no means advocating the abolishing of all steady state cardio, there is a time and place for it but if you’re training for performance you need to condition. What good is all that strength if you can’t move with it? Train like an athlete and it will pay dividends in our training, no matter your goal.
During this training cycle I’ve included some GPP/conditioning on my non lifting days. Take a look at what I did this morning as well as yesterday’s training log. I was going to film this training session but my tripod was nowhere to be found.
Conditioning:
Hill Sprints x 10 (rest period was the time it took me to walk back to the bottom, roughly 45sec.)
4 min Tabatas (20/10) alternating the battling rope with sledgehammer swings. I did this for 4 rounds.
As you can see this was short and sweet but I assure you it was highly effective!
Full Body Training Log: Wk 6 – Day 2
1 – Bench Press 5×5,4,4,3,2
2a – Military Press 3×6,6,5
2b – 1 arm DB Row 3x23ea., 23ea., 20ea.
3a – Weighted Ring Dips 3×12, 12, 9
3b – Barbell Walking Lunges 3×16,16,16
3c – Burpee 3×10
I kicked it up a notch on this one.
I can’t wait to squat tomorrow.
Am I weird for saying that?!?
Follow me in these Social Networks